Dawn of the Dead
by bughunters
Summary: The 6th and 7th years of the education of the Hogwarts Three have come and gone, but the winter after they finally graduate, Voldemort unleashes a curse upon the Earth that even he fears.
1. Prologue: Bad Moon Rising

Prologue: Bad Moon Rising

All rights to the Harry Potter universe belong to J.K. Rowling, blah, blah, blah. Also, I must state that I got the idea to use _Bad Moon Rising_ by Creedence Clearwater Revival to FMJ-Author and his(her?) Dawn of the Dead fanfic Brave New World. It's damned good, check it out.

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Peter Pettigrew, in every way, shape, and form, now thought of himself as Wormtail. Not the Wormtail who hero worshiped Sirius Black and James Potter, but literally the tail of a worm, the most worthless part of a slimy, disgusting creature. That worms were essential to the renewal of nutrients in the soil did not clash with this image, as whenever he thought of them he thought of a time when he was nine years old and had been sitting in his parent's garden, digging among their rose bushes. As he did he pulled up the fattest, longest worm he'd ever seen, and as he watched it squirm among his fingers he noted with disgust the sliminess and coldness of the creature.

That was why he thought of himself as that, and as he walked into his master's most private chamber he knew what he would help do would make him unworthy of even that name. He knew it would make him a damned soul still walking the Earth, and he knew full well what lay beyond the curtain in the Department of Mysteries, thus making him know full well where he would be headed when he died. As the door to the inner sanctum opened, a gust of wind from behind him made the light in the lamp he was carrying flicker, and when the door was fully open he could see out the one window and into the knight sky above the island they were on. "_Hmm, a full moon tonight,"_ he thought to himself.

_I see the bad moon arising._

_I see trouble on the way._

_I see earthquakes and lightnin'._

_I see bad times today._

"_I can only imagine the hell Moony is going through,"_ Wormtail thought with a shudder. His animagi form being a rat he had never been able to spend time with Remus when he transformed liked Sirius and James did, and Remus had never been comfortable talking about it himself or having anyone else do it, so Wormtail had respectfully kept silent. But that didn't mean he wasn't frightened reading descriptions of it by werewolves themselves (as brief as they were) from a book he would pilfer from the Restricted Section at the Hogwarts library.

"You arrived on time, I am pleased," Lord Voldemort said from the chair in front of his desk, a truly massive tome open before him.

"I live to serve you, my Lord," Wormtail said, bending down to kiss the hem of Voldemort's robes, but stopping himself when he saw Voldemort raise his hand.

"There is no need for that tonight Wormtail, I simply wish to get to work," his Lord said, startling Wormtail more than a little bit. Among many other things, Voldemort was a harsh taskmaster when it came to protocol, and for such an important piece to be ignored was truly rare.

"Master, before we begin, this humble servant of yours begs of you an answer to his question,"

"The answer shall depend upon your question Wormtail," Voldemort said in the same flat voice as before.

"I am the only one you told the true danger of this curse to. Why? I mean, I understand the requirements of the spell my Lord, but why not tell others about your plans before tomorrow?" Wormtail asked, and dearly hoped for an answer. Up until this point he hadn't understood why, and for a reason he couldn't figure out, he just needed to.

"That is a question best left for later my servant, if we survive," Voldemort said.

_Don't go around tonight,_

_Well, it's bound to take your life,_

_There's a bad moon on the rise._

"Permission to speak freely my Lord," Wormtail requested. He was the only person ever to have done that successfully, and hoped he would be again; of course, he had been forced to suffer the _Crucio_ curse in the past when doing it, so he was still fearful.

"You may my servant," Voldemort said as he closed the tome.

"My Lord… what if your plan fails?" Wormtail asked, his voice now openly trembling with fear.

"Than our punishments in the Abode of Treachery shall be horrible indeed," Voldemort whispered, his tone more frightening than anything Wormtail had yet heard. It was not of anger, violence, malevolence, or contempt, but cold fear, something he thought his Dark Lord could no longer feel.

_I hear hurricanes ablowing._

_I know the end is coming soon._

_I fear rivers over flowing._

_I hear the voice of rage and ruin._

"The Abode of Treachery, my Lord?" Wormtail asked him, his mind drawing a blank.

"A muggle writer named Dante Alighieri wrote an epic poem in the early Middle Ages called the _Divina Commedia_ in it's native Italian, the _Divine Commedy_ in English, in which he is guided through the three regions of the traditional Catholic afterlife by two separate guides, through Hell and Purgatory by the pagan poet Virgil, and through Heaven by a woman he loved on Earth named Beatrice. In the bottom of Hell, divided into nine circles, each one corresponding to various punishments for different types of sins, is the Abode of Treachery, where the greatest traitors of history are punished. At the center of the Abode, which is itself divided into four zones, is the three faced fallen angel Lucifer himself, slowly chewing on Brutus and Cassius, the betrayers of Gaius Julius Caesar, in the side mouths. I expect that we will replace them if we fail," Voldemort said matter of factly, with a hint of fear still in his voice.

"Who was in the center mouth?" Wormtail asked out of a slight bit of curiosity.

"Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus the Christ," Voldemort said. "Come my servant, we shall begin," he said as he stood up.

_Don't go around tonight,_

_Well, it's bound to take your life,_

_There's a bad moon on the rise._

_All right!_

They walked to the center of a white chalk pentagram where Voldemort stood at the center, Wormtail facing him kneeling, his hand pressed into the chalk. The spell Voldemort had discovered was quite possibly the most cursed thing in existence, not having been used since well before recorded human history. It was what wiped out the population of Atlantis, with the cause of their island sinking into the ocean being a few survivors who feared for the primitives around the world. It would require part of the energy of its caster, someone who had to be truly evil, if such a thing existed, and his/her most loyal follower.

Slowly, steadily, Voldemort began his chants, in a language ancient even when the Sumerians began to build their first cities. As he did Wormtail began to feel tired, not from lack of sleep, but as if he was aging far faster than he should. Voldemort had told him during their final preparatory meeting that there would be no permanent ill effects, but Wormtail still couldn't help but fear that he was loosing a piece of his soul. Not only that, but he was somehow able to feel this happen to his Lord as well, and was chilled at the amount of negative emotion flowing out from him

_Hope you got your things together._

_Hope you are quite prepared to die._

_Looks like we're in for nasty weather._

_One eye is taken for an eye._

Then, with a thundering crescendo, Lord Voldemort spoke the final words, and the amassed energy shot out of them and into the sky, circling the Earth in less than a second. The majority of the living felt nothing more than an ill breeze, except for an unlucky group that was struck dead where they stood. Though, as Voldemort and Wormtail believed they knew, that was far from the end of it. "My Lord, we have succeeded," Wormtail said, not exuberant but relieved that it was over.

_Don't go around tonight,_

_Well, it's bound to take your life,_

_There's a bad moon on the rise._

"No Wormtail," Voldemort said in a chilling whisper, "it is far from over, and we may still fail. If we do, this planet will become a land of the dead."

_Don't go around tonight,_

_Well, it's bound to take your life,_

_There's a bad moon on the rise._


	2. Chapter One: Midnight Cravings

Chapter One: Midnight Cravings

The song _The Times They Are A-Changin'_ is the sole property of Bob Dylan, as is the Harry Potter universe that of J.K. Rowling. All other content, however, is mine.

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The nighttime air of London in winter was not a pleasant thing at all, even for the most patriotic of its citizens, and Harry had been sure to get his fleece jacket from the closet before he left the flat he had gotten just last June after graduating from Hogwarts. The haze left over from that evening's rain storm had largely abated, and the night streets were almost entirely empty, with only an occasional car moving down past Harry as he walked. His intended destination was Bub's Pizza, a small hole in the wall joint about two blocks from his house, owned by a seventy-six year old Italian immigrant. Bub's probably seems an odd name for an Italian owned joint to you, but the man did immigrate to Britain in 1979 and bought it from it's former owner, who'd name his place after the nickname his father, a doctor, had been given by his friends.

As Harry walked he stared at the traffic lights ahead and the pizza place off in the distance, when a man stumbled out of the alleyway next to him. Judging from his torn up clothes and old shoes he was a homeless man, and he extended his hand a little too lifelessly and began to slowly walk towards Harry. "Listen man, I'm sorry, I haven't got any change, just a VISA, sorry," Harry said as he walked past, hearing but not registering the small, guttural moan that came from the man as he did. He continued to absentmindedly walk down the street, stopping when he arrived in front of the pizzeria.

_Come gather 'round people  
Wherever you roam  
And admit that the waters  
Around you have grown  
And accept it that soon  
You'll be drenched to the bone.  
If your time to you  
Is worth savin'  
Then you better start swimmin'  
Or you'll sink like a stone  
For the times they are a-changin'._

There were two tables outside and four more inside, not enough to get rich, but as Lauro said "it pays the bills." The light was still on, and Harry could see the elderly man through the window, causing him to knock on the door. When the man turned and saw it was Harry he gave him a warm smile, walked over, and opened the door.

"'Ey Harry, what can I do for you?" He asked.

"Well, I noticed your lights were still on, and I was hoping I might be able to get a couple of slices," Harry said, a grin entering his face as well.

"You know I wouldn't do this for anyone but you, you know that?" Lauro asked him as he opened the door. Ever since his graduation from Hogwarts and subsequent moval into his new flat he'd gone at least once a day, and had become genuine friends with the Italian, off listening to the many different stories he would tell about his life.

"Yes, and I'm grateful Lauro," Harry said, pulling out his wallet as he walked in, Lauro closing and locking the door behind him. He and Lauro were friends, but Lauro was still a businessman, and Harry had no problem paying for the pizza when he showed up this late; he did get a 50 discount considering how old it was.

"So, what'll it be Harry?" Lauro asked as he walked back into the small storage room (with a refrigerator/freezer inside.)

"I'll just take two slices of pepperoni and a Dr. Pepper," Harry said as he removed a can of soda from the refrigerator in the front of the store. No matter what he felt when he walked in here, there was something about this place that managed to make him feel okay.

"Two slices of pepperoni coming right up," Lauro said, emerging from the storage room with two large slices of pepperoni pizza on a metal try. He quickly slid them into the massive gas oven along the wall behind the counter and turned it on. "So Harry, how's your life been going? Got a job yet?"

Lauro was, obviously enough, under the impression Harry was a muggle, and Harry had told him that he had dropped out of high school during the summer and was looking for a job as an auto mechanic. "Pretty shitty, but I've got enough money from my inheritance that I can wait for quite a while," Harry said, also having told him that his parents died in a car crash when he was young and had left him a very large amount of money.

_Come writers and critics  
Who prophesize with your pen  
And keep your eyes wide  
The chance won't come again  
And don't speak too soon  
For the wheel's still in spin  
And there's no tellin' who  
That it's namin'.  
For the loser now  
Will be later to win  
For the times they are a-changin'._

"If only I'd been as luck," the old Italian said with a laugh, Harry nodding in agreement as he opened his drink and took a sip. It was as he lowered the can that he noticed a large figure lurch in front of the windows, and a second passed before he recognized him as the homeless man from earlier.

"Oh Christ he followed me," Harry muttered, Lauro giving him a quizzical look. "As I was walking here he approached me, probably for spare change, and I told him I didn't have any and walked past. I hope he ain't pissed," Harry explained.

"Eh, I'll tell him to leave," Lauro said as he hoisted himself down from the stool behind the counter he was sitting on. What happened as the pizzeria owner walked to the front door was extremely strange, as the man did not approach the door to wait for him, but simply began banging on the windows with what appeared to be all the strength he could muster (which didn't seem to be that much), all the while uttering a very guttural moan.

"UUUUHHHHH!" Even though Harry had been through a lot over the course of his life, something about that particular sound still unnerved Harry quite a bit.

"What the bloody 'ell is with him?" Lauro asked.

"I do not have a clue," Harry answered, Lauro unlocking the door and sticking his head out.

"Hey, buddy, this place isn't open, the guy in here is a friend of mine, he paid with credit," Lauro said a bit angrily, the man slowly turning and learching towards him in response. "Hey, I said we're clAAAAAHHHH!" Lauro started, the scream beginning as the man leaned forward, grabbed his head, and took a large bite out of his neck.

The sound of tearing human flesh made Harry gag, and he dropped his Dr. Pepper onto the floor in shock. "What the bloody FUCK!" Harry shouted as he ran forward, yanking Lauro away from the man, who stood chewing on the piece of bloody flesh he had bitten off. "My God, Lauro…" Harry said, trailing off as he held the elderly man in his arms. The blood was gushing from the wound in his neck in massive spurts, and the man was taking in extremely raggedy breaths, with blood coming out his mouth as well.

"Ha…harr…y, g…go," the man gargled out, using the hand not covering the wound to attempt to shove his young friend away. Harry fell back into one of the chairs, and Lauro fell to the ground, where he began to writhe in pain. With a glare that could kill at the man who attacked his friend, Harry withdrew his wand at the same time that the homeless man swallowed his "food" and looked at the two people in the pizzeria. His arms hung dead at his side as he shoved the door all the way open and moved towards them, Harry leveling his wand at the man.

"_Petrificus Totalus!_" He shouted at the man, and the man's arms snapped to his side at the same time his legs snapped shut, the man then proceeding to fall on his face; Harry then proceeded to grab a nearby rag and wrap it around Lauro's neck, vainly trying to stop the blood flow. Harry had no idea what to do, as Lauro was already slowing down, and he knew the spell wouldn't last forever. "Emergency services," Harry said to himself as he ran to the phone, leaping over a table to get to it, and punched in 999. The phone rung for a few seconds before a woman who sounded quite tired answered.

_Come senators, congressmen  
Please heed the call  
Don't stand in the doorway  
Don't block up the hall  
For he that gets hurt  
Will be he who has stalled  
There's a battle outside  
And it is ragin'.  
It'll soon shake your windows  
And rattle your walls  
For the times they are a-changin'._

"This is the London Police Department, how may we assist you?" She asked him, Harry quickly giving his name and location.  
"I was having a midnight snack at a pizzeria owned by a friend of mine when a homeless man who begged me for change a short time before came up and started banging on the window. My friend went and opened the door, and as he was telling him to go away the homeless man bit a big chunk of flesh from his neck. I need an ambulance and a police car here right away," Harry said, turning and looking down at Lauro. Even after all the death he'd seen over the years he felt a tear streak down his cheek when he saw the old Italian man's body begin to spasm, marking his passing from this world.

"I guess you could send someone from the morgue instead, he died."

"I'm sorry to hear that sir, and you're lucky we still have an ambulance available in that area that can pick him up, we've been getting flooded with reports of attacks like the one you just described for the last ten minutes, though the majority of them have, fortunately, not been fatal," she explained. Harry was about to continue speaking when the phone and his wand slipped out of his hand, the phone clanging against the counter and his wand hitting the floor and rolling under it. Lauro, who had been lying dead before his eyes, was beginning to stir, and not in the way a body did right after death. Slowly, surely, he stretched his arms out behind himself and began to push, attempting to hoist himself off the ground.

He slowly began to turn around, one arm stuck slight backwards, the other one slowly rising in the air till it was at about a 45 degree angle. It was he began to walk that Harry saw in his eyes the same thing he saw in the homeless man: the utter emptiness of the dead. This was not Lauro; but what was it then? As much as it weirded Harry out to say it, there was only one word he could think to call what was ambling towards him: _zombie_.

La… no, the zombie, began to stumble towards Harry, the young man finally snapping back and trying to grab his wand. It, unfortunately for him, had rolled all the way under the counter and out the other side, making getting it right now not exactly a safe option.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, what do I do?" Harry said to himself as the zombie began to move towards him, emitting the same guttural groan that had come from the zombified homeless man. It was then that he looked down and found himself starring at the stool, which he immediately picked up. He held the seated end outwards and moved out from behind the desk, the thing turning and beginning to move towards him. With a determined breath Harry ran forward, slamming it into the thing that had been Lauro and knocking it back far enough that it nearly tripped over the still ensorcelled hom…zombie on the ground.

At least, it seemed ensorcelled, because at that point it began to hoist itself up from the ground, and in seconds it and what was Lauro were advancing on him. At this point, there was nothing more that Harry could do but run, and so he dodged forward and grabbed his wand, overturning a nearby table to block their progress, and ran out the door. He immediately pulled it shut, pointed his wand at the lock, firmly said _alohomora_, and ran, the familiar clicking sound echoing in his mind as feet hit pavement. He could also hear the banging noise the two zombies made as they tried to pound their way out, but for now at least, they were trapped.

He stopped running, when he saw a woman in a very skimpy pink nightgown stumble out from the door of a flat building, and as she walked under the street light Harry recognized that she too was a zombie. Looking about, he did the only thing he could think of: he immediately apparated back to his flat, despite the possibility of muggles seeing. The female zombie stumbled on, drawn by the pounding of her two fellow zombies, not yet aware they were like her, and therefore, not tasty.

_The line it is drawn  
The curse it is cast  
The slow one now  
Will later be fast  
As the present now  
Will later be past  
The order is  
Rapidly fadin'.  
And the first one now  
Will later be last  
For the times they are a-changin'._

………...

Well, what do you think? I was thinking about including a song in each chapter, though if that seems like too much I'm more than willing to change.


	3. Chapter Two: Barricaded In

Chapter Two: Barricaded In

Same disclaimer as last chapter, except this time the lyrics are from _The Four Horsemen_ by Metallica.

As soon as Harry arrived back in his flat he ran and flipped the living room light switch on, leaning against the wall to avoid collapsing on the ground. At this point he couldn't tell whether it was exhaustion or fear, as the two seemed to have mixed themselves so thoroughly as to become one thing. Almost everyone he knew would have thought he'd become immune to such "human" things as fear after everything that had occurred at Hogwarts, but the site of that thing that had once been one of his closest friends rising from the ground and turning and gazing at him with that look of utterly all consuming hunger had awakened in something a primal fear. The fear of what was unnatural, and that which walked around after death was perhaps the greatest abomination against nature possible.

_By the last breath of the fourth winds blow  
Better raise your ears  
The sound of hooves knocks at your door  
Lock up your wife and children now  
It's time to wield the blade  
For now you have got some company_

He stumbled over to his refrigerator and yanked it open, pulling out an unopened bottle of fourteen year old scotch, yanking the top off before he closed the refrigerator. After looking at it for a second he simply shrugged, put it to his lips, and began to chug, some of the deliciously soothing liquid pouring out, down his chin, and onto the floor. When he stopped he saw he had chugged a full fourth of the bottle, and almost felt like he'd be regretting that later when he remembered the charm he could use to wipe the effects away. He withdrew his wand, pointed it at his head, and muttered "_claritas cerebrum_," his mind now warded against the effects of the alcohol. "It's almost too easy being a Wizard," Harry muttered, walking into his bedroom.

He knew he had to get out of here and get to the Ministry of Magic headquarters as soon as possible, but he was going to need bring something with him. He opened the door to his closet, and a second later removed the false back he'd installed, revealing a small storage space that held, among other things, his invisibility cloak and Firebolt. As soon as he removed them he turned to walk out, but stopped when his phone began to ring. He ran over and grabbed it, and a moment later a panicked voice came over the phone.

_The Horsemen are drawing nearer  
On the leather steeds they ride  
They have come to take your life  
On through the dead of night  
With the four Horsemen ride  
Or choose your fate and die_

"Oh thank Christ, Harry it's you! I don't know how you got past those freaks, but thank God you did. They just started…" the man who occupied the flat next to him, twenty year old Trevor Isakson, said, his words a continuous jumble.

"Slow down and explain," Harry said, a good idea forming in his head of who had attacked his friend.

"I was watching an episode of 'The Office' on DVD when all of a sudden this weird breeze swept through the apartment. Hell, I'm not sure why I'm mentioning it, but it just seemed so damned freaky that I yelped out in fear. Then, not five minutes I hear this pounding on my door, and when I open it there's these two people standing outside, one of them the Dominoes delivery guy I'd called a while earlier, and some batty ol' git, probably seventy something, in his boxers and t-shirt, standing there pounding on the door. I open it with the chain attached, and the Dominoes guy tries to bloody fucking bite me!" Trevor said.

"Trevor, did the z…man bite you?" Harry said, his tone a very demanding one.

"No, but he broke the bloody safety chain and the door swung open (Harry gave a definite sigh of relief at this)! I nearly tripped from shock, but I ran into the bathroom and locked the door. If I hadn't left my cell phone in there earlier I wouldn't have been able to call you; I already tried the police, and they said they'd send somebody, but I can't wait.

I don't know what the fuck to do, I'm afraid they'll break in at any minute!" The man said, the last sentence coming out as a panicked cry.

_You have been dying since the day  
You were born  
You know it has all been planned  
The quartet of deliverance rides  
A sinner once a sinner twice  
No need for confession now  
Cause now you have got the fight of your life_

"Listen, I'll be right over, I dealt with some…one similar on my way home from Bub's," Harry said, grabbing his wand and walking out the door into the kitchen.

"No, don't, the police should be here soon," the man said, desperately trying to convince his friend to stay away.

"I'm coming to get you Trevor!" Harry said, ending the call and tossing it onto the kitchen counter. He quickly walked out the front door of his flat, and after taking a steadying breath, walked to that of his neighbor's, which was still opened wide. After a moment, he heard the same guttural moan as before, and after a few seconds a zombie in a blue and red uniform stumbled into the hall. It raised its arms as it advanced, but a quick spell took care of it, the zombie collapsing onto the ground as stiff as a board (for now, at least.)

Harry simply walked determinedly forward, turning towards the door, and facing the zombie still pounding away on the door to Trevor's flat's bathroom. He muttered the same words as before, and it too collapsed onto the ground. A moment later the bathroom door attempted to open, Harry rolling the frozen zombie away and against the wall, his friend Trevor stumbling out, as white as a sheet. "Thank you!" He screamed, crying as he ran at Harry, hugging the surprised eighteen year old very suddenly.

_The Horsemen are drawing nearer  
On the leather steeds they ride  
They have come to take your life  
On through the dead of night  
With the four Horsemen ride  
Or choose your fate and die_

"Their moans, the bite marks and blood on the old guy's arms and shoulder, I thought they were going to eat me!" He said, his hysterical sobs coming so fast that Harry was fearful he would hyperventilate.

"Listen, I'm getting out of here and heading somewhere safe, I want you to come with me," Harry said, raising his wand behind his back.

"Yeah, sure, fuck the police, fuck'em. Where are we going?" The man said, his breathing lowering down to a level that Harry felt didn't threaten his current state of consciousness. Harry quickly withdrew his wand and firmly said _stupefy_, the red colored blast of energy hitting Trevor before the man knew what happened. Harry ran forward and caught his friend before he could fall and hit the ground, dragging him into his flat and laying him down in the kitchen, running back and dragging the two zombies into Trevor's bedroom where he proceeded to apply a permanent sticking charm so as to prevent them from moving when the effects of the Petrificus Totalus wore off.

_Time  
has taken its toll on you  
The lines that crack your face  
Famine  
Your body it has torn through  
Withered in every place  
Pestilence  
For what you have had to endure  
And what you have put others through  
Death  
Deliverance for you for sure  
There is nothing you can do_

He was pretty amazed that though all of this no one in the nearby flats had come to see what was going on, Harry squashing fears that it was due to some new occupants in their homes. He quickly ran and grabbed his Firebolt, Invisibility Cloak, and a piece of industrial chain, which he proceeded to tie around Trevor and himself after setting the unconscious man on the brook with him. "Sorry ol' friend, it's easier this way," Harry said, dropping the invisibility cloak into a traveling pouch on the bottom of the brooms. He then proceeded to cast a Disillusionment Charm on the two, the familiar cold trickling down Harry's body, and after one last look on his small but comfortable home Harry sailed out the open doors that led to his small balcony and off into the London night, sounds of terrified screams and multiple sirens already reaching him.

_So gather round young warriors now  
And saddle up your steeds  
Killing scores with demon swords  
Now is the death of doers of wrong  
Swing the judgment hammer down  
Safely inside armor blood guts and sweat_

The Horsemen are drawing nearer  
On the leather steeds they ride  
They have come to take your life  
On through the dead of night  
With the four Horsemen ride  
Or choose your fate and die

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Please remember, if it gets annoying that I'm including music in each chapter, please tell me and I will be glad to stop. Also, to threepercentgone, any resemblance to Resident Evil is purely coincidental, as I've never played any of those games before (though I sure as hell wish I had, I've heard they're pretty good.)


	4. Chapter Three: Headquarters In Chaos

Chapter Three: Headquarters in Chaos

Same disclaimer as before, except now the lyrics are from _Down with the Sickness_ by Disturbed.

After what seemed like an eternity the slum neighborhood 12 Grimmauld Place was located in appeared beneath Harry, and he gently nudged the nose of his Firebolt downwards towards the ground. As soon as he landed he immediately looked around to see if he and his passenger were alone, and upon seeing that they were Harry removed the Disillusionment Charm and unhitched the chain, catching Trevor before he fell and hit the pavement. He gently laid him next to the door, and after knocking the doorknocker for the preset number of times it slid open, Trevor falling forward and hitting the ground as it did. As soon as the door swung open someone came running down the hallway, Harry finding himself being hugged very strongly by a bushy haired girl.

_Drowning deep in my sea of loathing  
Broken your servant I kneel  
It seems what's left of my human side  
Is slowly changing in me_

"Thank God Harry, you're okay!" Hermione cried as she squeezed the life out of him, Harry trying to get her to let go. After a second she did, Harry finally taking a relieved breath.

"Hermione, how long have you been here?" Harry asked as he picked up Trevor and began to carry him inside. Before she could answer Hermione saw what he was doing and gasped, jumping back a bit.

"Harry, who is that?" She demanded as he laid Trevor down on the hallway floor, yet again thankful that they had finally managed to remove Mrs. Black's portrait last summer.

"His name's Trevor Isakson, he's a muggle friend of mine and he lived next door to me. When I got back from getting a late night snack he called me and told me he was barricaded in his flat's bathroom and that two of those… things that are wandering the streets were trying to break in and eat them. I neutralized both of them and attached them to his bed with a permanent sticking charm, and told him to come with me. He was going to, but there was no time to explain what happened and so I stunned him, tied him to me with a piece of industrial chain, and flew here on my broom.

Who else is here?" He asked Hermione as he began to move Trevor up the stairs, Hermione quickly grabbing his legs to help Harry.

"My parents, who are upstairs trying to sleep in an old storage room, professors Lupin and Moody, Tonks, several Aurors who joined the Order a few days ago, and the Weasley family," Hermione said, tears filling her eyes when she mentioned that last name as they reached the top of the stairs and began to move towards the room Harry and Ron traditionally shared.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Harry demanded as they entered the room.

_Looking at my own reflection  
When suddenly it changes  
Violently it changes (oh no)  
There is no turning back now  
You've woken up the demon in me_

She waited until after they had placed Trevor on a bed to respond. "Well, you know that ever since Persey finally managed to make up with the rest of his family he's been living back at the Burrow?" She asked him, Harry nodding in response.

"And that Charley came back from Romania at the end of our seventh year to aid the Order domestically?" She asked, Harry again nodding.

"Well, Persey and Charley were sharing a room ever since, and maybe thirty minutes ago Ginny woke up when she head some loud thumping in their room. She opened the door, and Persey was hunched over Charley… GNAWING ON HIS RIGHT ARM!" Hermione said, dropping to the floor as the last part came out in an almost unbearable wail. Harry did not cry out when she said this, but he did stumble backwards as the truth of what she said hit him. "Ginny screamed when she saw this, and fell backwards, and Persey got up and began to shuffle towards her.

Her wand was… in her room, and before… she could get up… Persey was on her… and he bit her in the arm," Hermione said, breathing so heavily it seemed like she would pass out. It was at this point that Harry finally collapsed on the ground, tears now dripping down his face, as what he just heard was finally too much for him to take.

_Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness_

_Get up, come on get down with the sickness_

_Open up your hate, and let it flow into me  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
You mother get up come on get down with the sickness  
You fucker get up come on get down with the sickness  
Madness is the gift, that has been given to me_

"At that point Mr. Weasley and Bill arrived, and they stunned Persey. After getting everyone down stairs and Ginny's arm wrapped they headed here. When they contacted Ron he came and got me, and we went for my parents," Hermione explained. "My family and I have only been here for about two or three minutes."

"Where's Ginny now?" Harry asked after slowly taking in several deep breaths in order to end his crying.

"She's asleep with Mrs. Weasley, why do you ask?" Hermione asked as Harry stood up.

"Nothing, just…nothing. Listen, can you wait here for when he wakes up and then reapply the spell?" Harry asked her. She nodded, removing her wand as she stood up. "I'm going to go report in," Harry commented, turning and running out the door before Hermione could respond.

All the way down the stairs Harry felt as if he were going to collapse, and when he reached the bottom he simply sat down with a heavy thud. "How can I tell the Weasleys what's going to happen?" He asked himself as he sat there, another few tears falling out. After a few seconds of heavy breathing he stood up, wiped his eyes, and walked into the kitchen.

_I can see inside you, the sickness is rising  
Don't try to deny what you feel  
(Will you give in to me?)  
It seems that all that was good has died  
And is decaying in me_

Remus was hunched over the table with a massive fold out map of London, marking off spots with a quill, Mad-Eye was talking to the men and woman Harry assumed were the Aurors Hermione mentioned, and Tonks was sitting and inspecting a number of different potions, the contents of which Harry could only guess at.

"Professor Lupin!" Harry shouted as he ran over, Remus turning at the sound, his eyes bulging, and his arms enveloping the boy in a hug.

"Thank God, you're alright Harry," Remus said as he hugged Harry, letting him go a second later. The others there all came over and gave him warm greetings, and after a minute or so of talking they drifted back to what they had been doing when he came in. "Are you alright?" Remus demanded.  
"Yeah, I'm fine, I haven't been bitten," Harry said as he looked at the map.

"Why would it matter if you were bitten?" Remus asked him. It took a few seconds before Harry realized the awful truth of what he just said: they didn't know what would happen to someone bitten. That was, of course, if the theory Harry had been developing was correct, which was that anyone who was bitten would become a zombie, or it might be that you only become one if you die.

_It seems you're having some trouble  
In dealing with these changes  
Living with these changes (oh no)  
The world is a scary place  
Now that you've woken up the demon in me_

"Can I speak to you in private about that?" Harry asked him, starring at the floor as he spoke.

"I'm sorry Harry, as you can see I'm kind of busy," Remus gesturing at the map, "so I hope you can say it in here."

"Well, just… where are the Weasleys?" Harry demanded.

"Ginny is with Mrs. Weasley, who appears to have suffered a nervous breakdown," Remus said, noticing Harry flinch. "Do you know what happened to Persey and Charlie?" He asked him, a definite note of pain entering his voice.

"Yes, Hermione explained it to me when I arrived," Harry answered.

"I thought someone had come, I was able to hear her over all of the noise in here but I wasn't sure who she was talking to. Fred and George left ten minutes ago, I think they intend to get Angelina and Alicia and start some sort of security patrol to clear the streets of these things. Mr. Weasley, who is in Snape's Potion storage room at the moment gathering more for Tonks, was quite mad at them for suggesting this, and yelled quite a bit," Remus explained.

"Well, it's about Ginny and… what happened to her," Harry said.

"Well Potter, if you've got something to say about the wee lass and what happened to her, tell us; someone else might end up receiving a bite before this coming day will be over," Moody said in his never endingly grouchy voice.

_Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness_

_Get up, come on get down with the sickness_

_Open up your hate, and let it flow into me  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
You mother get up come on get down with the sickness  
You fucker get up come on get down with the sickness  
Madness is the gift, that has been given to me_

"Alright, fine," he said, motioning for everyone in the kitchen to come near him, which they did. "Maybe thirty minutes ago I was inside a pizzeria a block or so from my flat, getting a late night snack courtesy of the owner, a muggle, who I'd become friends with. While we were talking a man, at least it was a man…," Harry said, trying to continue but unable to as Tonks interrupted him.

"What the 'ell do you mean by 'was a man?'" The bubblegum haired woman asked him.

"I will explain that in a minute," Harry said, giving her an angry glare for interrupting him. "When what was a man came up to the window and started banging on it. After a minute the owner, a little old Italian man named Lauro, got up and went to the door to tell him to beat it. The man walked over and… bit a large chunk of flesh from Lauro's neck," Harry said, his audience either wincing or making some comment as to how disgusting that was.

"I hit him with _Petrificus Totalus_, I'm not sure why I didn't try a stunning spell, and as I tried to figure out what to do I called the muggle Emergency Services. While I was talking to the woman who answered I saw Lauro die, but then, a second later…" Harry said, unable to continue as the terror of what he'd seen came back to him.

"What happened Mr. Potter," one of the new Order members asked him.

"He… got back up," Harry said, letting the news sink in. "Don't try and convince me that he wasn't dead, because I know I saw him die, and I know I saw his corpse get up and try to eat me!" Harry said, surprised at how that statement exploded from him.

_Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness_

_Get up, come on get down with the sickness_

_Open up your hate, and let it flow into me  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
You mother get up come on get down with the sickness  
You fucker get up come on get down with the sickness  
Madness is the gift, that has been given to me_

"But if he was bitten and 'died,' and then came back…" Tonks said, her eyes opening wide as she realized the truth.

"If he really did die, just playing Devil's Advocate Harry," Remus said, adding the

Devil's Advocate part when he saw Harry's eyes flash, "and then… 'came back,' are you sure the bite had something to do with it?"

"Maybe, maybe not, all I know is that the dead are walking the streets of London, perhaps across the entire planet, and I just want to know how this started," Harry said resolutely.

"Well boy," Moody said in his usual gruff voice, "we don't have time for that kind of luxury. Right now, we have to do what those two Weasley boys did, go out and kill those things as many times as it takes."

"What about Ginny? If Harry's theory is correct, are we just going to keep killing her again and again?" Tonks angrily demanded, unable to get a reply as she was immediately interrupted.

"Who are you talking about killing 'again and again'?" Mr. Weasley asked as he and Ron walked through the door, potions in arms, everyone in the kitchen jumping apart quickly. Harry breathed a sigh of relief that Mr. Weasley hadn't heard them talking about Ginny, but soon opened his mouth and began to talk.

"Those things outside. Mr. Weasley, I do not believe they are human," Harry said matter-of-factly.

"Then what the hell are they mate?" Ron asked with an incredulous look on his face. Everyone was silent for several seconds, before Harry spoke.

"The living dead," Harry stated firmly, more silence following before Ron began to laugh.

"What the bloody fuck are you on man?" He said, continuing to laugh for several seconds but stopping when he saw his father glaring at him for swearing.

"Ron, Mr. Weasley, it would be a good idea if you sat down for this," Harry said, motioning to two chairs that had been set up against. Mr. Weasley was plainly confused as to the necessity of this request, but Ron pulled him over and the two sat down.

"Alright Harry, tell us why you think those things are the undead," Ron said, clearly a bit annoyed at how serious everyone had taken Harry's statement.

_(And when I dream)_

_(And when I dream)_

_(And when I dream)_

_(And when I dream)  
No mommy, don't do it again  
Don't do it again  
I'll be a good boy  
I'll be a good boy, I promise  
No mommy don't hit me  
Why did you have to hit me like that, mommy?  
Don't do it, you're hurting me  
Why did you have to be such a bitch  
Why don't you,  
Why don't you fuck off and die  
Why can't you just fuck off and die  
Why can't you just leave here and die  
Never stick your hand in my face again bitch  
FUCK YOU  
I don't need this shit  
You stupid sadistic abusive fucking whore  
How would you like to see how it feels mommy  
Here it comes, get ready to die_

"Mr. Weasley, Ron, a little while ago I saw a muggle friend of mine get attacked and bitten by one of those things in his pizzeria. I tried to call Emergency Services ('the muggle version of Healers, Aurors and the ordinary Magical Law Enforcement' he explained to a slightly bewildered Mr. Weasley'), but as I was talking I saw his corpse begin to stir. A few seconds later, he… it pulled itself up and tried to attack me. I managed to escape and lock the two creatures inside the pizzeria, and on my way here I stopped by my flat and rescued a muggle friend of mine, who is currently resting upstairs, who had been forced into his bathroom by two of those things.

I am so sorry I have to say this, but it is necessary: from what Hermione told me, I believe Persey was one of those things," Harry said, looking at them to gauge their reactions. Both were expressionless for several seconds, but suddenly Ron jumped up.

"So Potter," Ron began, his voice taking on the tone of Draco Malfoy when he said the word 'Potter,' "you're saying that one of my brothers is the walking dead, has bitten my sister, who may become one of those things soon?" After a moment of starring at him, Ron simply shook his head and turned to walk out of the kitchen.

"Ron, wait!" Harry demanded, before Ron angrily turned and advanced on him.

"NO HARRY, I WON'T! THAT WAS NOT A FUCKING ZOMBIE THAT KILLED CHARLIE AND BIT GINNY, IT WAS MY BROTHER PERSEY! AND THOSE THINGS THAT ARE WANDERING THE STREETS ARE NOT ZOMBIES, THEY ARE PEOPLE! AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT GOING ANYWHERE NEAR GINNY… YOU'RE DEAD!" Ron screamed right in Harry's face, before turning and storming out. Harry tried to stop him, but could not, as Ron simply screamed again.

"STAY THE HELL DOWN HERE ON THE FIRST FLOOR! YOU CAN HELP BE THE BOSS DOWN HERE, BUT I'LL HELP BE THE BOSS UP THERE!" Ron shouted, jerking his finger upwards, Harry guessing towards the room Ginny and his mother were in. Mr. Weasley had gotten up as well, but rather than scream gave Harry a brief look that seemed to apologize for his son's behavior before walking out after him.

Harry then proceeded to walk over to one of the two now vacant chairs and sit, rubbing his temples for a moment before looking up at Remus, who was the only one still watching him, as the others had very quickly gone back to work to avoid the awkwardness. "Well Professor," Harry began, "what the fuck do we do now?"

_Get up, come on get down with the sickness_

_Get up, come on get down with the sickness_

_Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Open up your hate, and let it flow into me  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
You mother get up come on get down with the sickness  
You fucker get up come on get down with the sickness  
Madness has now come over me_

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Well, I'll start by saying that I'm sorry I took so long in getting this up, and I hope it won't take as long with the next chapter. Now, to answer my reviews

Porcelain Prayer- Thanks for the comment on the music, I'll definitely keep it up.

Anne Phoenix- If you're reading the story again, you'll have noted I fixed the 911 error. I hope you enjoy the rest of it.

Hermione the Slayer- Sorry about taking so long to update, as I said, I'll try to go faster. And whether wizards can become zombies as well… well, you'll have to wait and see what happens to Ginny.

Finally, anyone who can spot the references to zombie movies (movie titles, modified quotes, etc.) I made in the prologue and the chapters up to this one and e-mail them to me will get a walk on role in the fic, if you wish. This'll go on to, oh, chapter six or seven.

I modified this chapter on the 23rd, and did so as I wanted to give you this hint: in the prologue, first and second chapter, all of the references come from Night_ of the Living Dead_, _Day of the Dead_, or the new movie by George Romero, _Land of the Dead_.


End file.
